Castle of Glass
by Ms. Sappho
Summary: He bet that he could make any girl fall in love with him. She dared to break his heart. They didn't envision the roller coaster that would ensue instead. Sirius/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Not JK Rowling**

_Cast: _

_Harry Potter - Daniel Radcliffe_

_Ron Weasley - Rupert Grint_

_Hermione Granger - Emma Watson_

_Molly Weasley – Julie Walters_

_Mary McDonald – Zoe Sadana_

* * *

_**April 1999**_

It was finally here: the end of the war. It resonated throughout the land – the birds happily chirped, the wind blew gentler and even the tree seemed to have a lighter glow. When you passed by a stranger on the street, they weren't looking over their shoulder, to their past.

A year after the second war, the boy who lived opened the gates to his childhood home. The place was in utter ruins. Even after 18 years of abandonment, no one has taken it down. It was just cut off from the rest of the world. He stared up at the place where it all started. If he tried hard enough, he could almost imagine how the place used to be. Everything started to get blurry. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. No more tears needed to shed for what happened. It was time to move on.

He heard two pops behind him and smiled as he felt two other people joined them.

"Bloody Hell. We have to clean this mess up?" said a male voice. Harry turned around to see Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. War had changed Ron. His hair was still flaming red and down to his ears. He had grown a little and you could tell that he was taller than Harry. He had many battle scars but the one next to his left eye seems to be the most noticeable. Those scars in themselves seemed to have aged Ron as his eyes lost the child look.

"Honestly Ron. Show some respect," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Hermione had matured. Her hair grew out and is actually tamable. You could see that she was a strong woman. The way she handled herself intimidated many others. She did have a few scars but most of them were hidden away by her clothes.

Harry smiled and laughed. He gave them both a hug and all three of them turned around to face the house in a battle stance. At the end of the war, Harry, Ron and Hermione went back to Hogwarts to actually finish their 7th year. Even though the trio had many offerings they felt that it was best to end Hogwarts with a complete education.

"It won't be that bad!" Harry said, not believing it himself and giving Ron a guilty look. "We may as well get started." Harry started to walk into the abandoned house. He could hear Ron grumbling behind him.

"You know if you don't want to help me you don't have to" Harry said with a fake sad look on his face. Ron immediately stopped grumbling and walked in with Hermione.

After graduating, Harry wanted to go back to his childhood and live there. Rather than having someone else repair it, Harry thought it would be a good project for him to do it. It would take mind off things and it would definitely help him reconnect with his past. Who knows what things of his parents he would find here. When Ron and Hermione heard of this idea, they immediately volunteered their help without Harry even asking. As the trio stood together in the entrance hall, they felt determined to make this house stand as elegantly as before. As for Harry, he never felt more at peace than he did here.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

"HARRY! Look what I found!"

Harry looked up from boxing stuff up and saw Ron rushing down the stairs with a box. When Ron came next to him, he couldn't even speak due to his loss of breath.

"What's all the commotion about?" Hermione said walking in.

"No idea. Ron just ran in here, saying he found something. And now he can't breathe." Harry said laughing at Ron's even redder face. After a few seconds, Ron finally calmed down and put down a box he was carrying. He rummaged through the stuff and brought out a very old scrapbook. Ron placed the book on the table and Harry and Hermione came on either side of him to look at the book. On the first page, it had a quote "friendship is a golden thread that ties all heart together," – unknown. Looking weirdly at his friends, Ron turned the page to see a group of eight individuals smiling at the camera in their graduation gowns.

"Hey, I know who these people are. They were in the album that Hagrid gave me." Harry said looking closer at the picture. "There's my dad, my mom, Sirius, Remus, Peter, my mom's friends and…"

"Who's the one next to Sirius?" Hermione said pointing to a short girl who was looking at the camera, laughing.

"No idea, we can ask Mom tomorrow. She might know"

The next day, they arrived at the Weasley house which was the one thing that remained consistent throughout the war. Although the Weasleys were doing financially better with their children in the real world, they never felt the need to move out of their family house or renovate it.

As they walked into the house, the smell of Molly's cooking filled the house, causing their stomachs to growl.

"MOM, I'M HOME!" Ron shouted, walking through the living room and towards the kitchen from where Molly emerged with an annoyed look.

"There's no need to shout Ron" Molly remarked before embracing him. "Have you been eating properly?" She asked as she pinched his cheek. Ron rolled his eyes as he let her fret over him.

"Hello Molly" Hermione said as she stepped up to embrace her mother-in-law. Molly turned her attention to Hermione.

"Hello dear! How is married life treating you? When can I expect a little grandchild to be running around here?"

"MOM!" Ron said as he blushed a deep red. Harry tried to stifle his laugher as Hermione's eyes widened. They had only been married for two weeks and since that their wedding day, Molly took every moment to ask about grandchildren.

"Oh Ron, don't be a child." Molly said, dismissing his embarrassment. She turned to Harry, hugging him. She then turned to go back into the kitchen, the trio filing in behind her.

"Mom, we just have a question for you." Ron said as he retrieved the scrapbook and put it on the dining table. He opened it to the picture and pointed at the mysterious woman. "Do you know who she is?"

Molly squinted at the picture before shaking her head. "She does seem familiar but I couldn't tell you." Molly replied as she put the book down. She looked up to see disappointed faces. "What's this about?"

"We found this in my parents' home yesterday." Harry said looking at the picture again. Every time he looked at it, his interest piqued. No one had ever mentioned this woman to him which made her that much more interesting.

"You could try asking Mary Macdonald – she was a Gryffindor at the same time as your parents and if I remember correctly, she used to hang around them." Molly said putting a hand on his shoulder. "She would give you a better answer."

* * *

After learning that Mary left the magical world, Hermione led the charge in tracking her down in the muggle world. They went through every directory they could find and called every Mary Macdonald they could find. Close to giving up, they finally picked up her location which put them on a flight to Paris, France.

They checked into a hotel near to where Mary's address was and headed out in the evening to her address.

"Now that I think about it, we probably should have called ahead or something." Hermione said shaking her head. "This could be creepy."

Both Ron and Harry looked at each other with a sheepish look. Neither of them had considered that. Harry knew this investigation was obsessive but he just needed to know who the woman was. She was the only connection he had left to his parents and Sirius. It was too late to turn back now. They were already at the steps of her house.

"Too late now" Harry said as he trekked up the stairs and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, an older lady opened the door. Before he could say anything, she dropped the glass she was holding.

"James?" she said looking at Harry as if she saw a ghost. Harry smiled as their trip wasn't wasted.

"I'm sorry, no. I'm his son – Harry Potter" Harry said. "Are you Mary Macdonald?"

Mary nodded, the shock sliding off her face, and smiled. "Oh of course you are. I'm sorry, you just look so much like your father. Please come in."

Mary said as she opened the door to let them in. She led them to the living room and left to get water for the trio. A few minutes later, Mary returned with a tray and handed them each water.

"I know it was many years ago but I am sorry to hear about your parents. They were truly wonderful people" Mary said as she sat down in one of the armchairs.

"Thank you." Harry said smiling back to her. "If you don't mind, I have a question for you." Hermione handed Harry the scrapbook and he opened it to the picture. He gave her the scrapbook.

"Do you know who the woman is next to Sirius?"

Her eyes looked at the picture and her demeanor changed. Her face reflected almost a sad look. But it was gone as quickly as it came. She sat up and quickly smiled. "Yes, I do know who she is. Everyone knew her by my last year." She said softly. "In fact, if I remember correctly, she was the reason your parents got together."

Harry sat up at her last remark. "She was?"

Marry nodded. "Oh yes, she convinced Lily to give James a chance."

"Did something happen your last year?" Hermione piped in.

Again, a flash of sadness before Mary composed herself. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hermione looking at him in confusion. "Oh, that was the year she became a legend." Mary said laughing, her demeanor once again changing. "She was the girl who made Sirius Black fall in love"

The trio looked at each other in shock. They weren't expecting that response. Harry knew that Sirius had a reputation at Hogwarts for being the ladies' man. He had always imagined Sirius with different girls, never settling down. He would have never expected Sirius and love to be in the same sentence.

"Sirius never mentioned her" Harry said hoping to get more information out. "What can you tell me about her?"

Mary sat back, her eyes never leaving the picture. "She was a shy girl and kept to herself mostly. She was an incredibly nice and forgiving person. Also quite brilliant – gave your mother a run for her money." Mary started as she gave back the picture to Harry. "But I'm assuming you didn't travel miles to hear about her grades."

Harry smiled and shook his head.

"Everyone knew their story so it's only fair that you do too." Mary said smiling. "It all started with a scream filled morning…"

* * *

Thanks for reading! I started this story a long time ago and I've decided to finish it. I'm hoping to become a full time writer so all reviews – negative and positive are helpful. This story is Sirius/OC based loosely on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and John Tucker Must Die.

Until next time,

Ms. Sappho


	2. Chapter 1

_Cast:_

_Sirius Black - Julian Schratter_

_James Potter - Francisco Lachowski_

_Remus Lupin - Dylan O'Brien_

_Peter Pettigrew - Logan Lerman_

_Lily Evans - Daria Sidorchuk_

_Marlene McKinnon - Erin Heatherton _

_Emmeline Vance - Lyndsy Fonseca_

* * *

**Chapter One: Nothing New**

"Sirius Black I HATE YOU!"

Most people didn't look up to see a girl with blonde locks screaming her head off as well as looking at the said person with hopeful eyes that he would come after her. After seeing no more than a flinch at the call of his name, she gave out an aggravated sound and turning a full 180 degrees to run off somewhere. The few people that did look up shook their head and looked down sadly. This wasn't anything new to Hogwarts.

"Nice Padfoot, another girl has run off because of you. This would be what… the 15th time this month a girl went screaming because of you." a boy of 17 remarked as he looked up from his food. His hazel eyes gleamed with amusement at the scene. His messy black hair fell gracefully on top of his glasses and a grin broke out on his face, as filled his plate with food.

"Hmm has it really been that many?" said the boy who was called Padfoot. His shaggy dark brown hair whipped around his forehead as he consumed himself with his food. His crystal, blue-grayish eyes concentrated on his meal. He looked up with his mouth full and said: "Well that's what I call a good start."

"How many times do I have to tell you Sirius? Don't speak with your mouth full," a sick looking boy said, sitting right of Sirius. To keep with his scolding tone, his pale face held a stern look. However, his clear amber eyes showed amusement and a joking attitude.

"But, what's wrong with this one?" said another boy who imitated Sirius' way of eating. His short blonde hair and dull blue eyes looked at Sirius in confusion. "She was cute."

"Alright lay off! Yea she was cute but the girl was just too…" Sirius had begun to say.

"Clingy, perky, annoying, boring…" James said, interrupting him and rolling his eyes.

"Emotional, futuristic, and no longer a challenge," Remus added, slowly cutting his meat unlike his friends next to him.

"Fine, she was just like the rest. It's not my fault all the cutes ones are annoying." Sirius said, shrugging carelessly. He then put on lopsided grin. "Besides why stick to one girl when there are so many others out there? It's a bore." Sirius said once again resuming beastly manner of consumption.

_RING RING RING._

The rest of Marauders just laughed and pulled Sirius away from his food. "Come on, Padfoot, we have class." All that could be heard before the doors closed was Sirius' yell of despair.

"No! Don't take me away from my food. I'll DIE!" This was followed by a fake over dramatic cry.

* * *

Behind these mischief makers were two girls making their way to class. One of them had black hair with her bangs swept to the one side. Her hair grew out to come to the middle of her chest, in layers. Her brown eyes sparkled dangerously as she looked ahead with anger. She stood tall, and walked ahead. Walking next to her was a shorter girl. She had blonde curls seeming to bounce with her every step. Her hair stopped at her shoulders, framing her face. Her amber eyes reflected the same anger as her friend. Her body had an athletic built to it after years of Quidditch.

"God he just makes me so sick!" the latter one said.

"Don't let the other girls hear you say that, Mar. You'll be murdered in your sleep faster than you can say Sirius Black," the other one said rolling her eyes.

"Ugh to think how many girls idolize him? I'm pretty sure I heard Maya talk about a club called 'Seriously Sirius.' He has his own fan club." Marlene said laughing and shook her head as she walked to potions class.

"MARLENE! EMMELINE!"

Both of them turned around to see a red-headed girl running to catch up with them.

Lily smiled up to them with her sparkling emerald eyes. Her auburn hair flowed gently down her back. Combined with her pale skin, she looked like a fiery goddess. Her height equaled the average of Marlene and Emmeline. She has relatively thin, only showing a bit of fat on her arms. "You guys left the hall pretty fast."

"It's that stupid Black and Potter. Running around the school as if they were kings of the world. Especially that Black." Emmeline said, slowing her pace down to wait for the other girl to watch up with them.

"You -"

Before Lily could say another word, a voice carried the entire hallway.

"OY EVANS, WAIT UP."

Lily groaned in anger and purposefully sped up. "Speak of the devils." Marlene said as she followed her friends pace. However, the three boys caught up fast with the fourth one a short distance behind.

"You can't run from me dear Evans especially now that we are spending so much time together as Heads." James said cockily. "So how about you and me go out this Saturday?"

"Potter for the last time. Read my lips. . . .YOU." Lily said in a frustrated tone. She knew that she was on the verge of exploding in anger as her eyes grew in intensity. The people watching around them shrunk back in fear for if there was one girl you shouldn't get angry, it was Lily. Many of the on lookers had first hand experience with her anger. However the people closest to her remained as they were.

James' face grew into a grin. "There are plenty of other things I want to do with your lips." He said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. Before Lily could say anything, a warning bell rang out, telling them to be in class in five minutes.

Lily made the motion of wanting to strangle him but let her hands go and shouted in aggravation. She stomped off to her Potion class. Her friends followed her, rolling their eyes. Marlene had walked in last. She laughed, seeing that Emmeline had chosen a seat next to another Gryffindor. There was no telling what Lily would do once she was angry. She walked over to the empty seat next to Lily and sat down.

The door opened once again and the four boys walked in once again. Lily turned her head around so fast that it seemed as if her neck broke. Her eyes were flashing dangerously as if challenging them to sit near her. A whimper was heard as the four boys shuffled their way into seats that were the farthest away from the group of girls.

"Alright class. Calm down." Professor Slughorn said as he walked to the front of his class. "As you know, this year is your NEWT year. I will do my best to prepare you guys. However I need cooperation from you children as well. Let's try not to repeat last year's incident of mixed genders," he said looking over to the Marauders who held a perfectly innocent face.

The rest of class erupted in silent laugher as they remembered the events of the year before. A potion had gone wrong by someone (three guesses who) and it resulted in making every student near by grow parts of the opposite gender. One male was sprouting blonde hair and a girlish voice along with the largest breasts you have ever seen, while one of the girls became buff and extremely muscular but still having the rest of the feminine attributes.

"So please try not to kill anyone this year. Today's class won't be too hard. Nor should there be any chances of messing up. We are just reviewing with the Everlasting Elixirs." The professor waved his wand and the instructions appeared on the board.

The entire class began to gather the materials and commenced with their potion. The only sounds that could be heard were the chopping of materials or the stirring of the cauldron. A good forty five minutes passed without anything happening. The professor went around, looking at people's work, thinking to himself "This is too good to be true." And indeed it was. As soon as he thought it, an explosion happened in other corner where the Slytherins sat. As the smoke cleared, boils and warts began to form on Severus Snape's face. The Professor groaned. He turned his head to see Black and Potter falling on each other with laugher.

"BLACK! POTTER!"

* * *

"And so, just when I was able to make lose his pants in front of everyone, Minnie decides to come along and ruin my fun." Sirius said one fine day while nearing the lake. "She gave me detention and took of 15 points! Okay the point taking came after I called her Minnie but still." He took a piece of rock and had it skip across the lake. He waited for a response but when he didn't get any he turned around to see his best friend gaze dreamingly off in the distance. Sirius turned his head and saw him staring at a certain red-head who was sitting close to edge of the lake. He rolled his eyes and went over to him to smack him on his head.

"Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?" James said looking at Sirius and rubbing his head.

"Get over her man. There are plenty of other girls out there." Sirius said rolling his eyes and following his line of sight and looking at Lily, sitting with her friends.

"She's the one man. The one. What I wouldn't give to go over there right now." James said getting the dreamily look on his face.

"Give me your broom and it's done." Sirius said smirking. Before James could answer, he dragged him off to the group of girls. When he found Marlene, he sat down next to her and gave her a kiss on her lips. "Hey babe."

* * *

"He's looking at you again," said Emmeline smirking.

"More like staring." Marlene added in.

"God. When will he learn to quit? It's not funny anymore!" Lily said aggravated again. She purposefully faced her friends so that her back would be to him.

"Maybe it's not a joke. Maybe he actually likes you," Marlene suggested.

"Are we talking about the same person? He's only after me because I'm the only girl who ever said no to him." Lily said with a sigh. She just wanted him to leave her alone. Was that too much for a girl to ask?

"Don't look now. He's coming over along with Black." Emmeline said looking past Lily.

Lily stared at Marlene who was right in front of her. Oddly she had a tinge of pink on her cheek when Black was mentioned. Sirius came over and sat down next to Marlene giving her a kiss on the lips. "Hey babe."

Lily's mouth dropped. She looked at Emmeline whose face reflected Lily's shock. She was put out of her shock when a familiar voice said her name. Lily looked up to see James still standing up and looking at her hopefully.

"Hey Evans. You look cute today. How about joining me for a nice walk around the lake?" James said titling his head to the side. Lily raised her eyebrows. That was too un-egoistical for him to say. Before she said anything, James' added. "I know you have been wanting to for the longest of times."

And there we go.

Lily was about to retort when she noticed James' predicament. She smiled sweetly to him. She stood up and walked close to him. "You are right. I've been waiting forever to do this." Lily couldn't contain her laugher. He was falling for it. Right when he was leaning in, Lily put both her hands on his chest and pushed him backwards. _Bulls eye_. Lily thought as she saw James fall directly into the lake.

"I have no idea why you would ever think that I would go out with an egoistical, big-headed, no-good JERK like you!" Lily screamed as she made her way back to her friends. She grabbed Marlene by the arm and pulled her up. With a final look of hatred toward James, she marched off with her friends following behind. Behind her she heard, "She touched me! Padfoot, she actually touched me," which was followed by "You are hopeless."

They had finally reached Lily's dorm. They were unable to say anything as Lily was walking too fast. She snarled the password to the knight in the portrait and stormed in. As soon as they made it in, Lily started to pace, mumbling. "GAH he just makes me so aggravated. Why does he love to torture me?"

It was a few seconds later when her friends joined her in the room. They sat down on her couch waiting for her to calm down. Once her crazy pacing was done, she sat down in the arm chair looking at Marlene curiously.

"When did you start going out with Black?" Lily asked with a little bit of a harsh tone.

Marlene blushed under the scrutiny of her friends. "Last night. It just happened." She said shrugging lightly.

"You do remember that it's been two days since his last girl. He's a player and you know it." Lily said with a face that showed disbelief.

"And you are the one who said that he was horrible" Emmeline added

"Yes. How could I forget the horrible screaming?" Marlene said rolling her eyes. "But I think I'm different for him. He asked me in the most romantic way." Her eyes became dreamy and she sighed softly.

"And she's gone ladies," Lily smirked which caused a pillow throw at her.

"Don't say we didn't warn you." Emmeline remarked before smirking slightly and asking about the details. This again resulted in a pillow traveling across the room. The girls decided to make it a sleepover and went into her dorm, talking late into the night.

* * *

"You broke with her? Already?" Remus looked in shock and with disbelief. "It's been a three days mate." Fate found the marauders in boy's bathroom as that seemed to be the safest place to be away from an angry group of girls.

"Three days too long. No offense. She's an amazing girl and all that but it wouldn't have worked out between us." Sirius shrugged it off as though he had been told that he had detention again.

"You are seriously impossible." James said shaking his head. Even he had the decency to wait a little longer before breaking up with someone. Sirius shrugged again as if it wasn't a big deal before looking in the mirror to look at his red cheek.

"How did she take it?" Peter inquired.

"Well not too well. I think she may have actually liked me a lot." Sirius said wondering if this strange thought was true.

"No really paddy?" James replied sarcastically. "Why else would a girl agree to go you with you?"

"Because she heard I'm great in bed?" Sirius said with an innocent look on his face. A look that could have fooled anyone but those who are closest to him. "And don't call me paddy. It's Padfoot. Say with me now. Pa-Duh-Foot"

The three chuckled. "You'll never change will you?" Remus said shaking his head.

"Nope and don't count on it." Sirius said causing them to laugh. It was a silence in the bathroom before Sirius ventured out to say

"Do you think it's safe to go to the great hall from the raving mad lunatic?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Evans of course"

That resulted him in another smack around the head from none other than her knight in shining armor, James.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading for Chapter 1! Just a note – Mary doesn't know every single detail. She's telling the general story but for the sake of this actually being a story, I'm using some liberties here.

As usual, please read and review! Any suggestions and critiques you might have for me are greatly appreciated! Thanks a bunch.

Until next time,

Miss. Sappho


	3. Chapter 2

_Cast:_

_Sirius Black - Julian Schratter_

_James Potter - Francisco Lachowski_

_Remus Lupin - Dylan O'Brien_

_Peter Pettigrew - Logan Lerman_

_Lily Evans - Daria Sidorchuk_

_Marlene McKinnon - Erin Heatherton_

_Emmeline Vance - Lyndsy Fonseca_

_Aditi Chopra - Genelia D'Souza_

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Bets**

"Right so the ingredients for the Polyjuice potion are?"

"Um, lacewing flies, leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knot grass, a bit of the person they want to turn into, fluxweed which has to be picked at the full moon and…" Emmeline said thinking about the last ingredient.

"The last one is shredded boomslang skin."

"Oh right! Can't believe I forgot that." Just then she looked up to see Lily and Marlene walking over to where they were sitting which was in back of the library. As they got closer, it was noticeable that Marlene was crying. Emmeline immediately got up to go over to hug Marlene.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?" Emmeline asked concerned for her friend.

"He broke up with me!" Marlene said going into another round of tears. They pulled chairs up to their table, ignoring the other girl who was sitting there and watching them.

"That jerk! It's only been a three days!" Emmeline said furiously. Lily shook her head as she kept stroking Marlene's hair to calm her down.

"I thought *sniff* that he might actually like me for more than a freaking one night stand." Marlene said burying her head in her hands.

"Or in this case, a three night stand." Emmeline said mumbling. Lily elbowed her to be quiet.

"Is it me?" Marlene said ignoring Emmeline's comment. Immediately the girls went into assurance mode and tired to comfort the girl. It was then Lily noticed the other girl who was sitting there, watching them. On the second that Lily looked up, the girl was rolling her eyes.

"You have something to say?" Lily said rather coldly. She didn't appreciate people mocking her friend. Her friends looked up to see her sitting there.

The girl's eyes grew large. "Oh um no." The girl said rather meekly. She had long black hair with dark brown eyes so dark that it could have been black. Her small eyes were adorned with darker region at the bottom of her eyes. She had glasses on and a pen [the muggle kind] tucked into her ear. Being of Indian heritance, she had that light brown skin mixed with a slightly darker undertone.

"Yes, yes you did which is why you rolled your eyes. Why don't you share it with us?" Lily said again with the same tone. Emmeline looked Lily with a disapproving stare as she was stuck in the middle for which friend to stick up to.

The girl immediately sat up and stared at Lily, with a shaky yet confident stare. "You want to hear exactly what I think?" She said with a matter-of-fact tone. "I think your friend here is a bit stupid to fall for Black's tricks. Let me see if I get this right – he asked you to a romantic spot – the astronomy tower or the lake perhaps. Then he let you talk about what you are passionate about, agreeing with every statement. He does it a way that makes you believe that he's also passionate about the same things."

"How'd you know that?" Marlene asked in bewilderment.

The girl scoffed. "It's the same trick he pulls for every girl. He finds out what they are interested in and pretends to be interested in the same thing. Then he uses his so called charm to lure you in. And also, did he call sweet names like "babe," "sweetheart."

"Yeah he did."

"Yeah that's not because he's in love with you. It's so that in case he forgot your name he won't mess anything up." The girl said taking off her glasses.

"Let me guess now. You went out with him before?" Emmeline asked looking at the girl as if she grew two heads.

"Oh I'm not that stupid." The girl said before thinking and then looked apologetically at Marlene. "A couple of girls in my dorm went out with him and it's the same story. I just notice these things."

"So what if he called me babe and sweetheart. He did love me, I'm sure of it." Marlene said stubbornly.

"That's what every girl says" The girl said shaking her head. "Even after he broke your heart, you still are hopeful towards him, instead of being angry. I have to give him credit – he manages to get that same response from every girl he dumped. It makes you wonder if he'll ever feel what he makes these girls feel." The girl saw the trio staring as her if she grew antlers. The girl immediately felt awkward and stood up to leave.

"Anyway, I have to go Emmeline. I'll tutor you another time." She stuffed all her of her stuff in the bag and moved to leave. She put on her Ravenclaw robes and went by Marlene. "I am sorry." She said sweetly before leaving the library.

* * *

"But Padfoot what's has your longest relationship been?" Remus asked as he waiting for house elves to bring their food. They were currently in the kitchens as they had missed lunch. Before they knew it, the food appeared and all four of them started to eat.

"Uhm,prohlyfordyas" Sirius said as he was eating.

"What?" Remus said as he slowly ate his food. He had the same appetite as his friends but he just had learned manners and eats at a slower pace rather than Sirius' pace of "the world is ending in the next minute so I have to stuff myself."

He held his hand up as a wait sign and then swallowed. "I said, probably four days."

Remus shook his head. "That's really sick you know that?"

Sirius just shrugged. "It's not my fault that I just get bored. But given the right girl, I'm sure I can stay for longer."

"Is that a bet then?" Remus said proving that he was a marauder. He knew that Sirius didn't mean what he said but he used it against him. He was tired of seeing girl after girl cry because of Sirius. "I bet you that you can't stay with a girl for longer than three weeks."

Sirius looked up in horror. One girl for three weeks? He could never manage that.

"I'd understand if you don't want to do it." Remus said with a smirk. "I know it can be hard for you."

Sirius immediately stood up. "I'll do it!" He said with a proud voice. "And I'll add something to the bet. I'll bet that I'll make her fall in love with me." He said arrogantly.

"Fine. At breakfast tomorrow, James, Peter and I will choose the girl. By the Christmas ball in exactly three weeks from this Saturday, you have to make her fall in love with you. The hogsmeade trip this Saturday starts the clock. Throughout these three weeks, you have to make an honest effort – no cheating or straying eyes. You can't blow her off." Remus said challengingly. He knew that if he spun his words the right way, Sirius would fall for it. Remus looked at Sirius finally understand the reality of the situation.

One Girl. Three Weeks.

* * *

An hour before dinner, James and Remus were sitting in the common room, finishing their homework in a comfortable silence.

"Why did you bet Sirius to do that?" James asked, breaking the peace.

Remus looked up from his work, to see James gazing at him with a curious stare. "Did you see the way that girl left the great hall? She was devastated. And what about Marlene? Sirius needs to learn a lesson."

"But I do the same thing. My relationships don't last that long either." James replied a little confused.

"Right but you are more kind about it. You let down the girl easily." Remus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Sirius on the other hand likes to pretend that the girls have no feelings and just dumps them really harshly. Like remember that one where he dumped one girl by kissing another one?"

"Oh yeah I remember that one. You didn't talk to him for a week." James nodded along. He thought it was a pretty good idea. "But what if he doesn't learn?"

"He will." Remus reassured. "Sirius is a good guy. He's just a little slow when it comes to feelings. I know he'll learn."

* * *

"Why did you ask Aditi to tutor you? I could have done that!" Lily said accusingly.

"Oh come of it Lily." Emmeline replied rolling her eyes. "Just because she's at the top of our class along with you doesn't mean you have to hate her." They retreated back to Lily's dorm as it was the only spot of privacy. "Besides, you tried to tutor me in the past. We just gave up remember?"

Lily crossed her arms and sighed. It was true. Aditi and Lily always competed in studies and it was said that Aditi did have higher scores. Aditi was a major candidate for Head Girl and it was rumored that she might have even gotten it but she turned it down. But it was only a rumor.

"Beside she said something else that's more important." Emmeline stage whispered for dramatic effect. She had the mischievous face on. The three girls looked at her in puzzlement. Emmeline continued. "Too many girls have fallen for the Black Charm and got their heart broken. I think we should put a stop to it."

All of the girls looked at Emmeline with interest and with encouragement. This edged Emmeline to continue.

"Ever since he got to Hogwarts, he's been breaking hearts. Girls have cried over it too much. This time, it should be him that does the crying. He needs to know what it's like to feel heartbroken by someone he love."

"But how do we do that?" Marlene asked.

Lily, who understood where Emmeline was going with this, picked it up. "We'll find a girl who can make him fall in love with her and then have her dump him."

"That. Is. Pure. Genius!" Marlene squealed.

"But he hasn't been a relationship for longer than like a week, if that! How will he say with one girl?" Lily asked.

"We'll just have to make sure that this girl is extra alluring" Emmeline said with a twinkle in her eye. There's no turning back now.

"Okay so we should have a time set for when she should break up with him." Emmeline said thinking about it. "And it should be a little longer than a week just because it's Sirius Black we are talking about and making him fall in love will take longer."

"How about by the Christmas Ball?" Marlene suggested. "That way there's a break after it for things to cool down."

"Evil child. Breaking up with someone on a ball during Christmas no less." Emmeline said shaking her head. "You hang around us too much."

The girls laughed and were all planning the next two weeks. However, Lily broke the silence.

"Wait guys, who's the girl going to be?" Lily, the logical one of this entire thing, asked.

"Me" both Emmeline and Marlene shouted at the same time.

"It should be me! It was my idea!" Emmeline cried out loud.

"Yes but you can't stay in a relationship for that long." Marlene said rolling her eyes. "Besides it should me. I'm the most charming."

"Are not!" Marlene said.

"Are too."

"Not"

"Too"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"YES"

"I can make a guy fall in love with him right away." Emmeline said arrogantly.

"Hah yeah right. He'd be interested in your body, not you honey." Emmeline said with a mean tone. The room silenced for a second. It was a known fact that Emmeline was a little… wild would be the word. However for her friend to say that was hurtful.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT."

Pretty soon the entire room erupted into argument. Most of the things that were being said didn't even make sense. Lily was the only one not shouting. Well she was shouting but for the reason of getting their attention. Finally she took her wand and whispered a spell.

"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU." Her voice boomed out and all three heads turned her way. She took off the spell and shook her head.

"Look it can't be either of you." Lily said. They started to protest but Lily held up her hand to stop them so that she could finish. "Marlene, he just went out with you and broke up with you. We'll all know that he's not interested in the same girl again… well at least not for a little while." Lily turned to Emmeline. "As much as I hate to say it, your reputation is on the wild side. Even though you don't want it to happen, it'll turn into a physical relationship with him since you don't really like him." Emmeline looked hurt at first but then her face turned into one of understanding. Sirius wasn't anything special to her and Lily was right: it would end up as physical relationship. "And besides, he knows you hate him. It would be odd if you did a 180."

"Okay you make sense but who will it be? The only one left from the group is you Lily." Emmeline said looking at her pointedly.

"HAH. Yeah right. I will never willingly go out with him. He knows I hate him as much as I hate Potter. Besides, I'm pretty sure Potter wouldn't let him live if I do." Lily said rolling her eyes. Her eyes traveled past the three girls head and at the clock. "How about this? Breakfast tomorrow, we'll go down and narrow down our choices since everyone would be there. Who knows? He might have already selected his next victim by then."

* * *

Unusually early, the four boys were in the Great Hall even before breakfast started. As soon as the food appeared on the table, they dug into the food like there was no tomorrow. Pretty soon the hall filled up with and there was noisy chatter everywhere.

"Alright mates; time to choose one unlucky girl." James said finishing his food.

"Unlucky? What the hell do you mean by unlucky? Any girl would kill to be with me." Sirius said winking at one of his "fans." The receiver of that wink immediately started to giggle and turned to her friend to recount what had happened.

"How about Emmeline?" Remus said smirking.

"Are you kidding? That girl hates my guts! Come on, be nice to me." Sirius pleaded putting on his puppy face. "How about that one" Sirius said pointing rather rudely at a Hufflepuff girl who was known to be in love with Sirius.

James rolled his eyes. "The whole point of this is to make her fall in love with you. Not already have that starting out."

"What about Lily?" Peter, unintelligently suggested. This immediately got pudding thrown at his face.

"SHE'S MINE!" James shouted, standing up. The entire hall quieted down and looked at James with an amused face.

"Mr. Potter. Is there something you'd like to share with us?" Dumbledore asked, with an amused expression.

"Nope Al. Just wanted to let Peter here know that Lily is off limits to every guy here." James said smiling. He was looking around with a threatening stare, making sure everyone knew that. Sure everyone did but it was nice to reinforce it. He sat down with an arrogant look at Lily.

Right after that comment was said, two female voices rang out.

"Mr. Potter. Five points from Gryffindor for addressing a professor in such an informal way!" - McGonagall.

"I am not "yours" as you put it nor will I ever be." – Lily

Sirius burst into laughter as James sat back down, shaking his head. "Man you need to think before you act." He said.

James shook his head in amusement. "You are the one to talk."

"True. True. But I had to say something since the one who usually says something is currently staring at something." Sirius said looking at Remus who didn't notice Sirius talking about him.

"What are you looking at?" Sirius asked following his line of sight. He grinned when he saw that the reason behind Remus' distraction was in fact a girl. "Oo does wickle Remie have a crush?" He smirked looking at the girl. "A little below your standards but does have a little appeal."

Remus looked at Sirius and smiled. It was one of those evil genius smiles which never suit a guy like Remus. Sirius immediately grew worried.

"Gentlemen, I have found the girl for Sirius."

"What? Her?"

* * *

"I was right. It looks like Sirius has already found a new girl" Lily remarked as she looked at Sirius staring rather intensely at a girl. Everyone knew that look – it was the one that indicated that he found his target and is ready to pounce.

"What? Who?" Marlene said as the girls followed Sirius' line of sight. There was someone standing in their way and the girls impatiently tried to crane her heads to see them. Finally the person moved and the girls' mouth dropped.

"Her?"

* * *

Hi guys! Here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy! Please please read and review. I could really use feedback. :)

Love,

Ms. Sappho


	4. Chapter 3

_Cast:_

_Sirius Black - Julian Schratter_

_James Potter - Francisco Lachowski_

_Remus Lupin - Dylan O'Brien_

_Peter Pettigrew - Logan Lerman_

_Lily Evans - Daria Sidorchuk_

_Marlene McKinnon - Erin Heatherton_

_Emmeline Vance - Lyndsy Fonseca_

_Aditi Chopra - Genelia D'Souza_

_Fabian and Gideon Prewett __\- __Eddie Redmayne_

**Chapter 3**

_First Person POV - Aditi_

"Aditi!"

I looked up from my book to find my best friend, Gideon Prewett, walking towards me. I smiled at him, and placed my book down for the moment.

"Hey Gid," I said as he took a seat next to me. With a nod, he began piling food into his plate. The boy didn't stop until his plate looked like it could feed an army.

"You sure that's enough?" I asked laughing. He stuck his tongue out at me and focused on the plate in front of him. He could eat but no matter how much he did, he never gained weight. I on the other hand am a food addict but will gain weight at the drop of a hat. Life is just unfair sometimes.

"Dude, did you see Emma today? She is looking fine!" Gideon said in between his bites. "I'm definitely going to try to sit next to her in class today"

"She just broke up with her boyfriend! Don't you think there's some sort of mourning period?" I asked shaking my head.

Gideon scoffed. "He's still alive Adi. I'm just helping get through this awful time." Gideon said with an innocent face.

"Aren't you a saint?" I replied, as I picked my book. Gideon continued conversations with friends surrounding him while I focused on her book. When I start a book, I have to finish it no matter what. I don't like to be disturbed and I rarely notice the world around me. My friends recognized that fact which is why they were ignoring me. Unless there was a fire around me, I don't really get disturbed which works out well for me. Even then, I'd probably be annoyed first and then freak out.

But this morning was different. I almost threw my book in the air when Gideon randomly started to shake me by the shoulder, a little violently.

"What?" I said a little annoyed. Gideon should have known better.

"Why is the entire Gryffindor table staring at you?" he asked.

"What?" I said again as I looked towards the Gryffindor table. Eight different pair of eyes were looking in my direction. Of course as soon as I look up, they averted their eyes. Well most of them. One pair of eyes were still staring at me. As soon as my eyes connected with his, I suddenly felt shivers.

_What is going on? I'm not even cold._ I thought as I broke contact with him and looked back at my plate. They must have mistaken me for someone else. There's no way the most popular seventh years would be interested in me.

"Who knows?" I finally replied, realizing that Gideon was still looking at me waiting for an answer. I finished my orange juice before getting up. "I'm going to go talk to the Professor before class. I'll see you there."

I left the great hall, entering the solitude of my own mind. I wasn't really thinking about anything but it always felt good to start the morning off with some peace and quiet, even if it's in my head. I sometimes get into the state where I don't notice anything about me and just blindly walk around. I've definitely ended up in random places, not knowing how I got here. Like that time when I wanted to go to the library but ended up in the astronomy tower. You would think that I would have noticed climbing up that many stairs but…

"HEY. HEY YOU IN THE RED"

Startled out of my thoughts, I immediately looked down at my shirt, not expecting it to me but it was. I turned around, confused as to who would be trying to get my attention. But as soon as I turned around, all I saw was a large body heading directly towards me. I opened my mouth to say something but it was too late. He was coming at a fast speed and it didn't really look like he was stopping. I don't think he realized that I would turn around and stop as fast as I did. His face reflected my face of terror as he realized in that quick second that we were about to collide.

"Wait…" I started to say before he crashed into me and I ended up on the floor, my hair spreading all over the floor looking like a pillow beneath my head. I was knocked out of breath and opened my eyes to find dark brown eyes staring back at me.

"Eugh get off of me!" I say as I pushed the owner of the piercing eyes from this morning off me. He got off and extended his hand to help me. Being a bit of a prideful person, I just get up without his help.

"Hmm, that's usually not what girls say to me" Sirius said grinning.

"Are you always in such a rush?" I start to brush myself off and looked around for my books. They couldn't have gone that far. I look up to see Sirius holding my bag in which I extend my hand indicating for him to give it to me.

"Not usually, just when I see a beautiful girl" Sirius replied winking as he handed me back my bag.

I just give him an odd look, wondering why his eye was twitching. "Um, right… was there something you needed?" I asked curiously.

"What? I can't talk to someone without wanting something?" He asked, giving me an innocent look.

"Well of course you can but I just assumed. Well if there's nothing…" I meekly said as I started to walk toward my common room. I was a little embarrassed that I assumed something about someone. See, I hate when people assume things about me so I try not to do it to them. But I'm only human, I tend to slip up every once in a while. Totally not my fault.

* * *

_First Person POV - Sirius_

I walk back to the great hall, still trying to process everything in my head. What. Just. Happened? How the bloody did the girl just walk away from me? There is something definitely wrong with her in my opinion. Usually by now, I get a date and even a snog fest. But I didn't even get her name! Other than Lily, I don't think anyone has said no to me. Yes I actually did try to ask Lily out in my fourth year. I know now to never do that again after I remained bald for two weeks because a certain someone was jealous. Yeah isn't that unbelievable: a fellow marauder turned on another marauder because of a girl. But I forgave him after returning the favor of course. I mean, even Emmeline went out with me for a day or something and she hates me. Or maybe, the reason she hates me is because I dumped her after a day. Hmm, there's a thought. I'll have to look into that.

"How did it go?" Remus asked smirking

I somehow ended up back in the Great Hall. When I saw Remus' smirk, it all made sense to me. That had to be the reason. There is no other possible way that she could have said no to me. It's just physically, emotionally, mentally and any other way impossible that she would reject me otherwise.

"She's a lesbian isn't she?" I asked completely serious. And no pun intended. Well not really. That joke never gets old.

The rest of the Marauders' just looked at me before laughing. What is so funny? Can't they see the logic? The only reason that she rejected me is because she doesn't like men in general. Ask any girl here: I'm the ideal guy that any girl would want as her boyfriend.

"She didn't fall for your tricks did she?" James asked still laughing.

"No. Which leads me to believe that she has to be a lesbian!" I say slamming my fist down to emphasis my point. Of course, this caused them to just laugh even harder. I swear, they think that my misery is funny. What kind of friends are these?

"I'm pretty sure she isn't. She went on a date last year with some guy." Remus said gathering his stuff to leave the great hall as was the rest of his crew. Wait, did I hear correctly? Remus' actually knew her?

"Remus you sly devil, you know her? I thought you just picked some random girl!" I asked with shock in my voice and face.

"Of course I know her. If I chose someone I didn't know, there's a chance they are in your fan club. But I know for a fact she isn't." Remus replied opening the door to leave.

"Come on Remus, tell me about her. I have the right to know who I am dealing with." I whine, begging him for details. Yes, I'm not above begging if it means winning the bet. I will do anything to win a bet. Sirius Black has never lost a bet and he definitely isn't starting now.

Wow I just thought of myself in third person. It does have a certain pizzazz to it. I might do this more often.

"Or you could find out yourself. Better hurry, timing is running out." Remus smirked as he wandered off near the library leaving all three of us to look at his disappearing back in awe.

"I'm not sure if I should be proud of him or scared." James asked staring at him. We were still trying to figure that out when we found ourselves at the entrance to Gryffindor. Peter said the password "Grumpy Giants" and we walked in.

We went to our room to the boy's room and I immediately went towards my drawing board. You know, the kind that military officers have? Yes I actually went out of my way to buy one of these babies. I've always wanted to be a cool military officer: how amazing would that be? Besides, girls love a man in uniform.

"Alright men. We have a serious mission at our hands" I take out my little stick thingy (who knows what they are called? I'm pretty sure the people in the military don't even know what it's called) and I start to pace around with my heads in the back. "This is a classified and a top priority mission. I need you soldiers to find out everything we can about this girl: her name-"

"Aditi" James interrupted. I look at him about to bless him and then yell at him for interrupting the briefing. "Her name is Aditi and she's the Ravenclaw prefect." Oh, he didn't sneeze. Whoops.

"Good job, Solider Prongs. We are making progress." I say as I write her name out, spelling in the best I can "Adethi". Give me a break, I never heard of the name. "Now that we have that, I want you to find out all the details you can about her. You have exactly three hours to report back to me. Ready? Break!" I say slapping my sticky thingy on the board, with authority. My fellow soldiers just look at me and laugh at me. How dare they laugh at the general?

"Why aren't you moving? I said break" I said stomping my foot. No, not a like a little girl. Don't even think of it.

"Alright alright, would you relax? It won't be hard to find out information about her." James said as he got up and left the room with Peter. I swear they don't let my creative butterfly soar. They just stamp on it and then kick it to the moon. They are horrible friends. But that doesn't matter right now.

Operation Make Aditi Fall In Love With Sirius (MAFILWS) is underway!

* * *

Thanks for reading chapter 3! Please review! I could always use feedback. :)

Best,

Ms. Sappho


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_Third Person POV_

"Wait he's kidding me right? Why would he be interested in Aditi? She's not the type of girl that he goes for!" Marlene asked confused, with a tinge of jealously.

"Who knows, maybe he's been out with everyone else so he's going in a different direction? But who cares? We found our girl!" Lily said getting up from the table.

"What? Aditi? She cannot possibly pull this off. She's far too nice to be that mean to anyone." Marlene said shaking her head.

"I have to agree with Marlene on this one Lils. That girl won't be able to do this. He'll notice right away that something's not right." Emmeline said following Lily out of the great hall.

"But she'll have us three behind her" Lily replied speeding up to catch up to Aditi. "Besides, we don't have much of a choice if Sirius already chose her"

"ADITI!"

[hr]

_Aditi's POV_

I was still reeling in what happened with Sirius when I heard my name again. It was not a voice I recognized at all which meant that it was someone I never really spoke to. But really two strangers calling me in one day? What are the odds? I turn around to see the three Gryffindor girls running to catch up with her. I look at them with further confusion as these were the same girls who stared at me this morning.

"Um, Hi!" I say with my usual chirpy greeting. Even if I have no idea who the other person is, I treat them like I treat my friends. Gideon always said it's not a good thing. But I don't see the harm in it, really. I'm just being polite.

Without saying anything, the three girls dragged me into the closest empty classroom. Maybe this is why Gideon insists on me being more cautious about talking to strangers. Of course, I protest and inquire about what's going on. But my soft voice doesn't seem to pierce their concentration.

"We need you to do us a favor" Lily started

I look at the three girls with even more confusion. I'm not sure if that's possible at this point. I should just stop being surprised and/or confused at things today. It's barely past breakfast and already I've had two of the weirdest encounters ever. As usual, without thinking, I say

"Sure, what can I do for you guys?" I could have said, it depends on the favor or tell me the favor first. But no, I automatically say 'sure!' This is a problem with me. I can never say no, like ever. I wish I learned that skill at a young age. It would be so useful right now.

"Do you remember when you talked about getting revenge on Sirius? Well we decided to take the idea and go with it." Emmeline said excitedly. "We are going to have a girl make him fall in love with her and then dump him on day of the Christmas ball so that he can never forget what happened." They all looked at me expectantly at this. Wait, am I supposed to have a reaction for this? My confusion has reached its peak.

"Good for you? But I'm not sure why you are telling me this" I ask, completely clueless as usual.

"Because you are going to be that girl" Lily said smiling. If I had water, I would choke on it. But since I didn't, I choked on air instead. It took me a few seconds to recompose myself. Are they kidding me? Yes, that has to be it. This is a cruel joke that they decided to play on the innocent and clueless Ravenclaw.

"Pardon me, what did you say?" I ask. There's always that possibility that I heard them wrong.

"You are going to be the girl that finally gets revenge on Sirius" Emmeline said smiling. Nope, I definitely heard correctly.

"You have to be kidding me!" I exclaim, shaking my head and heads while slowly backing away to the door. "I am the worst person to pick for that!"

"It's not a joke. You are the only person at this point that can do this! He's already interested in you"

God, if you can hear me, please stop this cruel joke right now. They want me to be the girl that breaks Sirius Black's heart. See there's plenty of problems with that. One, I never went out with anyone in my life (the guy last year does not count!). Two, this is Black we are talking about. Why would he want to go out with me? And three, it just won't work!

"Now I know you are crazy. There's no way he'd be interested in me." I said shaking my head. "I really wish I could help but I'm really not the right person for this." I turned around and started to walk out. But I was too late – Marlene stood in between me and the door.

"You were the one who gave us the idea. You are the one who got our hopes up about showing Sirius the pain he causes. So if you don't do this, you will have on your plate the pain of every girl that he ever went out with." Marlene said seriously.

Damn that girl. She's trying to guilt trip me into it. Using my weakness. I hate disappointing people. But the question is – Do I disappoint them now or later? I'd rather peel the band aid off now.

"I'm really the worst person to help you guys." I said as I walked past Marlene. "I'm sorry."

[hr]

_Aditi's First Person POV_

I walked out of the classroom, realizing that I was severely late for my class. I ran to the third floor, slipping into the classroom. The professor motioned me in as I gave an apologetic smile. One of the benefits of being a good student was the permittance of the occasional slip up.

I found a seat in the back and quickly sat down. It's not my usual choice of seats but I didn't have too much room to complain. As I tuned into the lecture, my hand automatically started writing.

"In order to properly turn this vinegar into wine, you must…"

I did the right thing. There was no way that I would have been able to pull off tricking a guy like Sirius Black into falling in love with me. I've never been the most confident person but if I was, I'm not what he would go for.

"…discovered in 1600s…"

And then to intentionally break his heart? Is that not wrong? I can't stand it when I accidentally hurt someone but if I did so intentionally? I mean, he's a bad person for what he does but does anyone deserve that? I guess if there was one person who did, it would be him.

"…Remember, this motion is different…"

I don't think I'll ever be able to get out of my head the cat fight from last year. How do you date three girls at the same time? And keep it a secret for that long? I don't even know how someone could have pulled that off. I guess it made it a little easier that they were from different houses. The worst part wasn't even that he did that – it was how those girls fought _each other_ as if he was the one in the right and the other girls were the problem.

"…now we'll move on to non-verbal spells…

Maybe he does deserve to get his heart broken so he knows how it feels. But for me to be that person? I don't even know where to start with that. I mean the first part would be that he would actually have to like me. It's the first step and it's a step we'd fail at. I mean, considering his last girl was someone like Marlene McKinnon, one of the most sought after girls at Hogwarts, I doubt I stand a chance.

"Ms. Chopra, was there something you needed?"

Started out of my thoughts, I look up to see my professor peering down at me. I look around to see empty seats where my classmates sat.

"Oh no, I'm sorry." I reply, my cheeks burning. The professor glanced down at my notes, which were just scribbles of writing.

"Is everything alright?"

I smile and nod. "Yes, I'm sorry. It was just an odd morning" The professor, assured, walked away, leaving me to gather my stuff. I stuff everything into my bag and quickly walk out. I don't know what happened to me. I never tune out of class like that. I shake my head as I walked to my next class. The rest of the day seemed to pass in some sort of daze. Every time I tried to focus, I just ended up zoning out or thinking about this morning. These things don't happen to me very often. So when they do, I tend to analyze every little thing about the situation.

Every time I zone out, I always ask myself – I'm doing the right thing. _Right?_

[hr]

As soon as my last class let out, I immediately go back to my dorm. Normally, I would go to the library and spend an hour or two going over my notes from today. It was just my way to retain the information that I just learned. But I needed a break today. I just wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep.

I opened the door to my dorm and I find Gideon and his twin, (and my other best friend) Fabian Prewett sitting on my bed, talking. I always found it hard to make friends. When I first came to Hogwarts, I didn't know what to do. I didn't exactly mesh with girls, finding it hard to talk about and be interested in certain things like boys and makeup. And I was too shy to talk to boys. So I tended to stick to myself, often going by the kitchen to talk to the elves. Then one day, the twins caught me going to the kitchen and made me show them how to get in. Amazed that I found a way in during my first year, they kept making a point to talk to me after. Eventually, I became comfortable enough with them to not be shy and since then, the three of us were best friends. They went on to become relatively popular especially when they joined the Quidditch team but they never forgot about me, something I'll always be grateful for.

When they saw me, they immediately stopped and turned towards me. "Why is James Potter asking about you?" Gideon asked as he got up to close the door behind me. He then got behind me and pushed me onto my bed as he sat on the windowsill.

"What?" I ask confused. Should I even bother with that emotion anymore? This entire day has been one of the weirdest days of my life. That's why I didn't even bother asking how Gideon manages to get into the girls' dorm every time or how Fabian, a Gryffindor, is in the Ravenclaw tower.

"James Potter, you know the apparently handsome and popular hunk that every girl is after?" Fabian asked sarcastically.

"I know who he is Fab." I say a little exasperated. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, James' came to me after practice and asked me who that Indian girl was that was with me all the time. Then he started to ask me if you had a boyfriend and if you had a date to Hogsmeade this weekend." Fabian said his voice expressing his confusion and shock. "He then asked me what you liked. When I asked what this was about, he said that he was just curious"

I stared at him in shock. That made absolute no sense. My only interactions with James was during perfect meetings this year. Why would James' Potter ask about me? Did he need a tutor too? That can't be – as dumb as he acted, he was actually a brilliant student.

Gideon cleared his throat, bringing me back into reality. The two of them were looking at me expectedly, as if I was hiding something from them. We told each other everything so if there was ever a sense that we didn't tell each other something, we all got a little salty.

"I don't know!" I said truthfully. "Today has been extremely weird day. Someone must have spiked something over at the Gryffindor's table. First, Sirius talks to me out of the blue and then Lily, Marlene and Emmeline corner me in a classroom, telling me that they think Sirius likes me and that I had to help them, and then I actually zoned out of class today! I'm telling -

"WAIT, hold up" Fabian said, holding up his hand as stop sign. "What did you just say?"

"I know, it's shocking." I said nodding. "I actually zoned out of class and my notes are all just scribbles. It's -"

"No you dud. The thing about Sirius. Did you just say Sirius liked you?"

"No, I said they told me that they think that" I clarified. "Of course, it's not true. It makes no sense."

I looked at my friends' face and I saw something else transpire – it seemed like they understood something.

"What?" I ask again, never having said that word so many times in one day.

"Well, I'll be. Sirius and Aditi" Fabian says smiling and shaking his head.

"What are you talking about? I just told you it's not true" I said looking at them as if they were a little slow on the uptake.

"Aw, our innocent belle" Fabian said as he put his arm around me and squeezed. Belle was their nickname for me after we all watched La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast) together. I apparently was exactly like Belle. A bookworm, always giving people a chance, regardless of who they are. It's not far from the truth. If I was in Belle's situation, I probably would have given the Beast a chance. Hey, everyone deserves a chance! "I forget how naïve you are."

This is usually the point of the conversation I stare with a confused face and they take turns explaining. I like to think I'm smart but when it comes to crushes, love and all that Valentine Day's related stuff, I will definitely call myself stupid. I can never tell if someone flirts with me or if someone likes someone else. I never grew up with that around me. My entire life focused on studies and getting ahead in life. I had it all planned out. I was in Hogwarts for the school year and went to Muggle School during the summers. I would graduate from both schools and spend three years in university doing the same thing. Until I could not study anymore, I would continue studying so that I would start with an advantage when I finally became a scientist. There was never a room for friends or love. That would come when my parents decided it was time. That had been my life.

Of course, since coming to Hogwarts, my mindset has changed, especially in the friends department. After I became friends with Fabian and Gideon, they helped me get out of the 24/7 study mode. I found a balance between friends and school. But love…that's something that still evades me.

"My dear, James was asking me because he was trying to find out information for Sirius" Fabian said, with a little teasing in his voice. "It looks like Sirius has a little crush on our little Aditi here."

"He- what?" I said, my small eyes widening. "You mean… this morning, he was talking to me because… because he _liked me?_"

The two started laughing at my dumbfounded look. "Yes, genius!" Fabian said. "You know you suck at being a girl when you have two guys deciphering this for you."

I stare at them, not really looking at them. I never really had anyone like me. I was the nerdy kid you went if you wanted someone to tutor you. Or the one you came to if you needed a shoulder to cry on. Not the one you _liked. _

"That's not possible. Why would Sirius Black like a girl like me?" I asked which earned me a pillow to the face from Gideon.

"Oh shut it Adi," Gideon said annoyed. "You know you are an amazing person and any guy would be lucky to have you."

"You said that Lily wanted you to help her?" Fabian interjected before I could respond.

I snapped back into the conversation at Fabian's question. "Oh yeah. They essentially want someone to make him fall in love with them and then dump him so he knows how it feels."

"And they want this person to be you?" Gideon asked, his eyebrows going up. "Do they even know you?"

"Exactly!" I said, glad that there was one person who finally understood her. I'm not crazy after all to turn down their request.

"So are you going to do it?" Fabian said his face morphing into an inquisitive one. I looked at him as if he was crazy to even ask. Gideon gave him the same look.

"Of course not. I said no."

Gideon nodded in agreement but Fabian was staring at me as if I did something wrong. I didn't even have to say "What" before he expressed his opinion.

"Maybe it's not a bad idea" Fabian said slowly. We both looked at him as if he grew horns. He held up his hands in defense and motioned to let him explain. "Looking at it from their perspective, he already likes you."

"Which is debatable" Aditi interjected, still in disbelief.

"Alright, supposedly likes you." Fabian corrected himself. "And from what I hear, when he focuses on one girl, he goes after her until she says yes. So he's not going to switch gears. So they can't really pick anyone else if he is interested in you now can they?"

I hate when they make sense. That's my job.

"Not only that, this might be good for you."

"Good for me?" I ask my voice a little squeaky. "How could breaking someone's heart be good for me? That's got to give me some bad ju-ju."

"Adi, you never let yourself have fun. You always study and study. If Gid and I weren't here, you would just live in the library. Even though this won't be real for you, you'll at least get to experience it before you graduate and the rest of your life takes over. Not just that, maybe you'll make some actual girlfriends."

I started to protest about his accusation that I didn't have girlfriends but he shot me a look daring me to argue. I swallow my words as I sighed in defeat. It was still true. Sure, I had friends who were girls but not anyone that I would consider as close as the twins.

"You think I should do this?" I ask her slowly and softly.

"I don't know. But I'm saying don't dismiss it." He said shrugging. I looked at Gideon who looked unsure and concerned.

"No matter what, be careful." Gideon said shrugging. "I don't want you to be hurt by either of them."

I sigh, falling back onto my bed. I stared at the ceiling, my head swirling with unknown questions and answers. I never had this problem before. Any question I had, I found the answer in a book. My mind has never been jumbled about what to do.

_Well this is certainly a day of firsts for me._

* * *

I'm so sorry this is late! The holidays are a crazy time. But anyway, here's chapter 4! Please read and review. I'd love any feedback!

3 Ms. Sappho


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